9. Beautiful Budapest (Part 2)

Budapest was a treasure trove of sensory delights, culture and beauty. From the Jewish Quarter where we were staying to the Inner city there was such a difference, including the polished marble paths and buildings. It was just so perfect! Vaci street, the Parlimentary buildings, the banks of the Danube. Buda, the Citadel and Liberty lookouts and the city gardens were all stunning. We adored it all!

6m deep communist facade. A shallow bunch...

Keen to gain some cultural knowledge we headed off to do the Budapest Walking Tour early on our second morning. Somehow ending up on the Communist Tour rather than the general tour we were stoked with our fortune and were amazed by how much we learnt, and the knowledge and passion of our 20 something tour guide. Her detail and enthusiasm for her country and culture was admirable and highlighted how little many of us really learn, or possibly care about Australian history. Despite our frozen fingers and toes we found coffee to warm us up and headed on to join the Budapest main walking tour for the afternoon. Zoltan our guide was just brilliant, a true entertainer and story teller. We had a blast and his assistance with ensuring we could access every part of the tour was just fantastic. The facts were amazing - extended families all living in tiny apartments, even today. The hiding of religious preference during the communist years, the communist attitude we witnessed still alive in the city, particularly amongst so called authoritarian figures. The history of the bridges, the Danube, the market place, even the pixie sitting on the fence down by the Danube. The fact that all monuments, other than the Liberty and Soviet now reside in the cemetery. The Hungarians are a witty bunch!

3. The Itinerary

Choosing our itinerary was possibly the most exciting process! Reminiscing about places we had been in the past, expressing our dreams of places to see. Knowing we had 8-10 weeks and Europe was our oyster!

The trip idea had originated around Dickey's dream of going over to follow the Giro d'Italia Cycling race so being in Italy in May was the main requirement.

I was desperate to see Berlin. In fact, willing to go alone and miss other countries just to see it. The place that many label as the most amazing city in the world. I had been to Munich three times previously, so it was time to go north. There was also a Berlin City Run I knew of that is held early May every year which I was very keen to line up for.

With atlas in hand we came up with our list, in time realizing that every place had already been visited by one, if not both of us! With excitement we eventually decided on two 'new' countries to include - Budapest & Croatia. We now had an outline to include Italy, Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Croatia and Budapest.